Heroes & Villains
April 14 2017 – David Elders
Part of being different is standing apart; being the polar opposite of 'the madding crowd'
Its there in all aspects of life. From the youngest age we learn to follow a path and to idolise certain icons whilst being taught to shun certain behaviour and to vilify others. We build some people up into Heroes while we label others as Villains. Which is a subjective matter though and where things get interesting...
This juxtaposition between Heroes & Villains is where Original Casuals drew the inspiration for our latest collection from. The comparisons and contrast between those we label Heroes and those we label Villains have many parallels in this thing of ours and its relation to wider society as a whole.
Were we 'Heroes' for striking out from a society which strove to bundle everyone together in an increasingly grey and controlled mass, creating our own fashion and culture in the process? Or were we 'Villains' for refusing to bow down and conform to the norm?
We've created a series of iconic imagery for our Heroes & Villains collection that reflects some of these paradoxical pairings, kicking off [ironically] with our takes on Pele & Maradona.
The world's most celebrated player Edson Arantes do Nascimento is widely regarded as the Hero for winning every honour in the sport while Diego Armando Maradona receives the tag of Villain for his well-reported off-field misdemeanors. Maradona in fact encapsulated the juxtaposition of Heroes and Villains perfectly in the 1986 World Cup quarter final where he scored both goals in a 2-1 win for Argentina over England. His first goal was the infamous 'Hand of God' unpenalised handball, while the second was a 60m solo dribble past 5 defenders voted 'Goal of the Century'
Our Heroes & Villain collection covers icons from the world of sport, music, film and the murkier side of life. Something for everyone then!
As always, our Original Casuals iconic t-shirts are made from handmade luxury cotton weaved using the latest technology and dying processes to create a timeless classic garment. Made to strictly limited numbers to ensure the originality of design is matched by you standing out from the crowd when wearing it.
Which we reckon makes you a Hero rather than a Villain...